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Monthly Archives: August 2017

joining up with the fabulous writers over at Five Minute Friday. We write on a one word prompt for five minutes, no editing and then visit others who have written. Join in

prompt: Speak

Speaking to me involves having a voice. Sometimes people’s voices are ignored. Sometimes people speak louder than others and drown out what is being said.

I don’t speak up all the time. I have these wonderful moments where I practice assertiveness, but its only ever in my head. My mouth doesn’t open and say the words it wants to say. Instead I create great dialogues of what might have been.

Sometimes I find others speak too much. There are words that need to first be processed and more words are already on the way. I once sat in a small group where a girl shared her story for what seemed like an hour and when I left that night I couldn’t recall her actually having taken a breathe.

I think that speaking is important. I think that being acknowledged as having a voice that matters is so important. I think people being HEARD and listened to is of such importance.

gathering once again with my friends at five minute friday to write for five minutes on one subject…just letting the words come out. Also, make sure you visit those who have written ahead of and behind you. Make new friends and also see what God brought to mind for others.

12 years ago my life changed significantly.

A couple days after everything fell apart, I found myself calling several of my friends who living on the east coast and planning to visit them. I needed to get away and my year spent on the coast was one of my favorites.

I started off at my friend’s parents house. I had been to their house several times when I was there for school, and had kept in touch with them for several years. They were very welcoming of me, even when I was in such a state. They let me have some time to myself but also involved in me in their every day. I remember going to my friend’s grandpa’s birthday. The family has a long line of farmers in the family and there was a rowdy discussion about which kind of tractor one should and could drive and still be associated with the family (joking, but kind of not) I got to go out to the barn and meet the cows (such odd creatures) and spend some time visiting the grandma that has recently had some health issues. It felt so good to be part of life, forgetting as much as I could that I was just avoiding the inevitable.

I went to my friend Andrew’s house next, and stayed with his parents and him. They also managed to include me in their every day, having several family gatherings (his brother and sis in law as well as uncles and aunts lived near) as well as exploring that beautiful area. He was one of my best friend’s while I was at school in Toronto so we were able to have some very pointed conversations about what had happened and how I was attempting to deal with it. We ended up visiting one of his friends who was running an independent bookstore (so awesome!) and while they caught up, I went and perused the books and ended up buying one about processing grief and also one by G.K. Chesterton.

The night before I went to see my friend Allison, I realized that I thought that I had called her and told her I was coming and asked her if i could stay over and i realized that I never had that conversation. I was supposed to fly out of the city that she was living in, and totally forgot to call her about hanging out. Thankfully she was gracious and had me come over. She was working, so I slept in and we chatted when she wasn’t trying to catch up on sleep. She was one of my dearest friends and it was soothing to talk through things with her as well. We are still friends, we have moved apart relationally but are still in touch which I am so thankful for. We ended up going to see her grandma as well, and visiting her parents as well. It was so nice, once again, to be part of people’s everyday and trying to forget about the heartache that I was trying to forget.

it was so nice to have these three groups of people to offer me a place to go when I needed to run away and just refresh my mind. they gave me a safe place and soft place to land. I will always hold a special place in my heart for them and for the gift these days were for me in a hard time.

Every Thursday a fantastic group of people gather on Twitter and using the hashtag #fmfparty they party it up for two hours before Kate throws down the ONE WORD prompt for the evening. Its called Five Minute Friday but some choose to start writing on Thursday night. These parties is one of my favourite happenings on the internet. These people are the real deal and its been so good to get to know them over the past several years (I even got to meet a few in real life!)

So this weeks prompt is TRY. (write five minutes, no edits (except basic spelling and the like) and see what the prompt brings out of your madly typing fingers. )

GOThe first thing I thought of for those quote was a saying that I think is attributed to Yoda (in Star Wars…but I”m not a true fan so don’t get mad). I think it is something along the lines of “there is no try, there is only do”

the second thing that comes to mind is when people say ‘Have a good day’ I always answer ‘Thanks, I will try.’ I’m not a big person for commitments. I mean, if I commit to actually having a good day, what happens if I don’t. I mean in this thinking, I guess i think its all up to me, whether this happens or not.

I’m a pretty tempermental and sensitive person, which isn’t always a good combination when it comes to customer service (the field in which I’ve found myself over the past years). So I can try to have a great time at work, and I usually do, but as soon as that one customer is crusty or says something that isn’t so kosher, my nose gets out of joint and I often interact with them in a very cold and less then mature manner.

So in the sense that I let other people often dictate how I feel, then I’m adverse to saying that I WILL have a great day, cause who knows what might come ahead. and I’m a pessimist most days, and so why would i look forward to having a great day, they are so rare (although I do acknowledge when I have them).

But coming back to the first quote, ‘There is no try, there is only do’….its something that maybe I should ponder a bit more. Doing to me holds the possibility of failure. Trying not always, because you don’t always have to follow through. So in that sense, maybe fear of actually taking the step and making a great day out of whatever might come my way, might be a step in the right direction, no matter how out of control that might look for me